21 Feb 2010

The gunfighter's dilemma

Imagine the scene - you're standing in the deserted street of a ramshackle wild west town, Colt 45 strapped to your thigh, the music of Ennio Morricone floating on the air.

Somewhere off to the right a shutter bangs in the wind. Tumbleweed skitters by. Up ahead a grim-faced man dressed all in black (if it's a poncho you're in real trouble) stands ready to draw his six-shooter.

What happens next will decide whether you live or die. Should you go for your gun, or wait for him to make the first move?

[...]

Reacting to your opponent's movement turns out to be significantly faster than the conscious decision-making process involved in choosing to draw your gun.

"In our everyday lives some of the movements we make come about because we decide to make them, while others are forced upon us by reacting to events," he says.

As a general strategy for survival, these reactive responses seem pretty useful, he says. "It could mean the difference between life and death when you are trying to avoid an oncoming bus."

[...]

Being one of those who did (true, only partially!) avoid an oncoming (double-decker) bus, I'd recommend this article as a good Sunday morn' read

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